It is becoming increasingly difficult for me
to get excited over another AR-15. I don’t even try to count
the number of manufacturers of these rifles anymore. It is not
that I do not like the AR-15 style of rifle. It is just that
there are only so many ways to put one of these together, and
most are pretty much alike, varying only in the name stamped
into the receiver. Again, I really like the AR-15 design, and I
own several. In fact, I recommend the AR-15 often, and believe
that it is one rifle which should be owned by every American who
is old enough the handle one. I think that public schools should
have shooting programs which teach the handling and operation of
the weapon, as it is as close to our nation’s battle rifle as
most of us can legally own. Still, when a new AR-15 arrives for
review, unless it is set up just right, I have a hard time
getting myself pumped up over the task of writing a review.
Fortunately, the subject of this review is set up just right.

The Perimeter Marksman SAR-15 from Sionics
Weapon Systems is built just like I would have an AR built, if I
could own only one. I have a few AR-15 rifles. Some are equipped
with sixteen inch barrels and telescoping buttstocks for social
work. A light, handy AR is a good fighting rifle. They are easy
to shoot, reliable, and accurate enough for the purpose. I also
have ARs that are purpose-built for hunting. These have longer
barrels, either twenty or twenty-four inches, excellent
triggers, and solid buttstocks. They are superbly accurate, and
make hits on small targets easy at long range. The Perimeter
Marksman rifle shown here is set up in such as way that it would
easily fill the need of a fighting rifle or a hunting rifle.

For starters, the Perimeter Marksman has an
excellent trigger. Most AR-15 rifles on the market today do not.
I fully understand that a carbine built for close range fighting
can get along just fine with a seven pound trigger pull that is
not particularly smooth. Many shooters and AR builders refer to
this type of trigger as “mil-spec”, as if that is something
really special. It is not. This Perimeter Marksman rifle has a
two-stage target trigger that releases with a specified release
of 4.5 pounds, but the pull on this test rifle was even better,
releasing with just three and one-half pounds of resistance,
which makes hitting a target at long range much easier.

No rifle will shoot better than its barrel,
no matter how many gadgets are bolted on its accessory rail. The
Perimeter Marksman rifle is built around a match grade stainless
steel eighteen and one-half inch barrel with a
one-in-eight-inches twist. The muzzle wears a Sionics muzzle
brake, which seems to be very effective. The barrel length
chosen for this rifle is perfect for a do-everything AR. It is
short enough to be handy, but long enough for better velocity
and reliability. The barrel has a 5.56mm chamber, so it will
fire both 5.56 and 223 Remington ammunition without a problem.
The Perimeter Marksman rifle wears an ACE Skeleton full-length
buttstock. This is my favorite AR buttstock for comfort while
shooting, and the stock which I chose to install on my 50
Beowulf AR. To my knowledge, there is no better buttstock
available for an AR-15.

The bolt carrier is M-16 spec for durability,
and is nickel plated for corrosion resistance with PFTE for
lubricity. The bolt wears a heavy duty extractor spring. The
pistol grip is a Magpul unit, and the excellent folding backup
sights are also from Magpul. The free-floating hand guard is
perfect. It measures fifteen inches in length, has a full-length
integral top rail, but thankfully, is smooth on the sides and
bottom. Sections of rail can be added to the hand guard, if
desired. In addition, the Perimeter Marksman has a forward
assist and case deflector, spring-loaded dust cover, and a
flattop upper receiver to accommodate an optical sight.

Mounted atop this Sionics rifle for testing
is a Trijicon 3 to 9 power AccuPoint riflescope. This is a
superb scope for such a rifle, having the ability to help the
shooter make long range hits, as well as for use at moderate
distances quickly. The post reticle wears an illuminated chevron
at the top. The reticle is lighted by tritium and fiber optic,
is always “on”, and never needs batteries. The fiber optic
ring adjusts the brightness of the aiming point according to the
lighting conditions, making the scope useful in bright sunlight
as well as almost total darkness.

For accuracy testing, I mounted my mule; the
Leupold Mark 4 8.5 to 25 power target/tactical scope. The
Trijicon is a terrific scope, but the higher-powered Leupold
scope allows me to get all the accuracy that I possibly can out
of a rifle/ammo combo, as it helps me to see the target better.
From a solid rest, it eliminates most of my human error, and
allows me to see just how well a rifle will shoot. Velocity
testing was done with the chronograph set out twelve feet from
the muzzle at an elevation of 541 feet above sea level,
approximately. Temperatures hovered around the eighty-nine
degree Fahrenheit mark during all velocity testing. Relative
humidity was fifty-seven percent. Velocity readings are the
average of several shots fired, and the results are listed in
the chart below. Velocity readings are listed in feet-per-second
(fps). Bullet weights are listed in grains. FMJ is a full metal
jacket bullet. HP is hollowpoint. V-Max is a polymer-tipped
varmint bullet. TSX is a Barnes Triple Shock homogenous copper
hollowpoint bullet. The handload listed uses the TSX bullet with
24.5 grains of Ramshot TAC powder, a Remington small rifle
primer, and Winchester commercial .223 Remington cases. Accuracy
results are listed below in inches, and are the average of five
groups with each type of ammunition. Accuracy testing was done
with the rifle resting in a Target
Shooting, Inc. Model 500 rifle rest, to eliminate as much
shooter error as possible. The rifle was allowed to cool between
each brand of ammo tested.

Ammunition

Bullet Weight

Velocity

Accuracy

Stryker V-Max

55

2845

0.94"

Lake City M855

62

3093

1.25"

Hand Load TSX

62

2777

1.13"

Winchester USA FMJ

62

2803

1.75"

Buffalo Bore HP

77

2696

0.98"

Buffalo Bore HP

69

2963

0.512"

Black Hills HP

69

2553

0.90"

Wolf Gold HP

75

2583

1.12"

Cor-Bon HP

69

2525

0.78"

As I have come to expect, the Buffalo Bore
Sniper ammunition exhibited the best accuracy of all loads
tested. I show a picture of one particular three-shot group that
measured only one-quarter of an inch using the Buffalo Bore 69
grain Sniper ammo, but that was the best group fired of the day,
and probably the best group that I have fired with any rifle
this year! The Buffalo Bore 69 grain average group size was
outstanding, just over a half an inch at one hundred yards. Some
of the other ammunition tested also fired sub-minute-of-angle at
one hundred yards. I did no farther shooting at paper with this
rifle, but did use it at the Whittington
Center near Raton, New Mexico last month, firing at small
rocks and such out to around 600 yards, using the Trijicon
AccuPoint three to nine power scope. As noted above, the reticle
in that scope is built for fast target engagement, but still
allowed for plenty of precision for long range shooting. The
optics are very clear, and the brightness of the chevron aiming
point is adjustable. The Sionics rifle functioned one hundred
percent reliably during all testing. Every cartridge fed, fired,
and ejected without fail.

The Sionics Perimeter Marksman is, in my
opinion, one of the best AR-15 rifles on the market for a rifle
that will fill many needs, from fighting to hunting to
competition. It is assembled using the best components
available, then thoroughly tested to make certain that the rifle
is as accurate and reliable as is fitting for a rifle of this
quality. The rifle balances and handles well, weighing in at
seven pounds, six ounces empty. The overall length measures
38.25 inches. You can certainly buy a cheaper AR-15 than the
Perimeter Marksman, but at an MSRP of $1499 US as of this
writing, this Sionics is a pretty good deal. You can also spend
a lot more on an AR-15, but doing so will not guarantee that you
will get a better rifle. The Sionics Perimeter Marksman is
reliable, accurate, built right, and built in the USA.

NOTE: All load data posted on this
web site are for educational purposes only. Neither the author nor
GunBlast.com assume any responsibility for the use or misuse of this data.
The data indicated were arrived at using specialized equipment under
conditions not necessarily comparable to those encountered by the
potential user of this data. Always use data from respected loading
manuals and begin working up loads at least 10% below the loads indicated
in the source manual.

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